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Just to say bigger isn't always better but if your not confident of your shot with a smaller calibre then don't take it.....And the bigger hole doesn't make them fall as i have witnessed on many account out and not so long ago into the bargain too..... seeing a deer shot to pieces by a larger calibre due to poor shot placement.......Nothing beats accuracy full stop.......I have taken large mountain reds no problems at all with the .243 and just saturday passed droped a calf that only stopped for a second with a heart shot never moved an inch, range 282 yards fact. i've neck shot all deer this year but the calf and the distances range from around 90 yards to 226 yards, droped stone dead.

i'm not looking for a grudge match or slagging match here, The .243 is a great hunting calibre i agree but also an excellent deer calibre in the right hands also.....

i've seen deer shot with .270's, 30-06's and .308's run at ranges less than 100 yards i only ever had one deer run in my life and that was my fault due to poor bullet choice on my very first outing stalking..............needless to say it never happened again..........

pushing a 105 grain a-max at 3000fps is balistically more efficent than either the 6.5x55, .308 hence it's building popular uprising among the long range target shooters.....

As stated this is not a grudge match just another opinion and from someone shooting a .243 for more years than i care to remember...............

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i.e. putting the bullet in the right place every time! As late and great Jack O'Connor said " all deer rifle calibres do much the same thing". Put a suitable bullet in the right place and it is academic to the deer whether it has has been hit by a .243, .308, .338 or whatever. Calibre choice is up to the individual: or we could start discussing what is the best car.....

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The .243 appeared at about the same time as the .244 Remington. .243 on a .308

Winchester case and the .244 on the .257 Roberts case The .244 was loaded, in the USA, to start off with a 90 grain bullet as the heaviest bullet, so it quickly became regarded as a varmint only calibre. The .243 was available with a 105 grain load from the off and rapidly gained a reputation as a good flat-shooting, minimal recoil calibre for deer. .243 is still here. Where is the .244?

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A .243 is more than enough to take reds. My mate was a gamekeeper on a remote highland estate and reds are what they shot. He had a 0.243 which I learned to shot with and is perfect.

You want to look at a second hand rifle, say Â£350, a decent set of mounts and a good scope. That should see you striaght. Just make sure you're happy with the gun, confident in it and you're own ability.

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A .243 is more than enough to take reds. My mate was a gamekeeper on a remote highland estate and reds are what they shot. He had a 0.243 which I learned to shot with and is perfect.

You want to look at a second hand rifle, say Â£350, a decent set of mounts and a good scope. That should see you striaght. Just make sure you're happy with the gun, confident in it and you're own ability.

Happy shooting

the .243 is the most used calibre for gamekeepers, due to the fact of minimal recoil, and its flat shooting capabilities, however when paid stalkers came to estates the gamekeepers saw the poor shots that were being taken and increased the calibre used to make sure that the animal would be taken down quick enough even with, fairly poor placement of the shot......

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I've just been looking through my Photobucket and some of the pictures, a friend has sent me.

Some truly massive Fallow Bucks, with a .243 sitting next to them. Nothing wrong with the calibre at all. Its the man behind the Gun, not the size of the bullet which comes out of the other end.

Hell, when it was legal in the 50's & 60's, the truly professional stalkers in the Highlands were CULLING Reds with the .22 Hornet. They knew where their bullet was going, they were so used to their rifles, and they shot some number of them!